Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Shares Gap Down to $16.76

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $16.76, but opened at $16.39. Marten Transport shares last traded at $16.49, with a volume of 37,723 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Vertical Research raised shares of Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th.

Marten Transport Trading Down 1.2 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $18.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.01. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 0.79.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The transportation company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.12. Marten Transport had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 9.48%. The firm had revenue of $249.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $262.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is presently 27.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marten Transport

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport during the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 1,997.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,706 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 2,577 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 108.6% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,790 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport during the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

About Marten Transport

Marten Transport, Ltd. operates as a temperature-sensitive truckload carrier for shippers in the United State, Mexico, and Canada. The company operates through four segments: Truckload, Dedicated, Intermodal, and Brokerage. The Truckload segment transports food and other consumer packaged goods that require a temperature-controlled or insulated environment, as well as dry freight; and regional short-haul and medium-to-long-haul full-load transportation services.